Rochester, Washington
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1941 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Thurston South census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98579. It lies near Baker Prairie. The Survey maps it on the Rochester quadrangle. 6,064 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 144 feet above sea level.
On record in Rochester
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 6 records
Jonas and Maria Lovisa Erickson Farmsteadlisted 2002
Gate Schoollisted 1990
Jaaska House and Warehouselisted 1988
Miller-Brewer Houselisted 1988
State Training School for Girls Administration Buildinglisted 1988- Rochester Elementary Schoollisted 1990
Population over time
3 figuresRochester grew from 1,829 to 6,064 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,829 | |
| 2010 | 2,388 | +559 (+31%) |
| 2020 | 6,064 | +3,676 (+154%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1941 USGS Gate quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Hoquiam quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Rochester quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Hoquiam quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Hoquiam quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Hoquiam quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Rochester quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1992 USGS Chehalis River quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
140 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 140 fires within 5 miles of Rochester between 1992 and 2020, burning about 647 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 |
| Debris and open burning | 37 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Fireworks | 10 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 8 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | HWY 12 |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | INDEPENDENCE RD |
| 7 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | 169TH |
| 6 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | LITTLE SCATTER CREEK |
| 6 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | OAKBERG |
| 6 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 5 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | CONSTRUCTION |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 25 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 25 workings within 5 miles of Rochester: 24 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Gate Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Ames Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Apple Avenue Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bardeaux Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Delaney Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Grand Mound Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Grand Mound Pit and Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peterson Corner | 1.1 miles | 14 | |
| Helsing Junction | 1.8 miles | 14 | |
| Michigan Hill | 3.0 miles | 14 | |
| Mima | 3.4 miles | 14 | |
| Independence | 3.5 miles | 14 | |
| Essex | 4.9 miles | 14 | |
| Grand Mound | 5.1 miles | 14 | |
| Bordeaux (historical) | 5.1 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Rochester | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1505161 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1512611. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.







